Single Panorama Pro equivalent to old 2 x 15W fixture?

[58Mike]

Can anyone tell me if a single 19W Ecoxotic Panorama Pro strip in the 8x12K and 4 x royal blue provides more or less usable light than an old 2x15W standard flourescent strip light with 1 x 10K bulb and 1 x 420 Actinic bulb? This would be over a 12x24x12 standard 15G tank.

I have been running this 15G nano FOWLR for about a year with really decent coraline growth and am thinking about adding some more interest to the tank. Maybe a frogspawn, torch, or similar. Could this be possibly be enough light in such a small tank, only 12" deep?

No doubt, more is better...but any insights would be appreciated.

[58Mike]

Reading this again, I may have been less than clear in my questions.

Mostly, I am really just hoping to find out if folks think this LED strip would carry enough lighting punch on its own to keep any of the more common corals in the hobby? The Euphyllia keep coming to mind, but the question is really meant to be more general than that. Given the shallow 12" depth of this tank, I wonder how much light would really be needed....

What gets me thinking is that its time to replace the bulbs on the old standard output fixture and the look and lower long term costs of swapping out with a quality LED strip seems pretty intriguing.

The standard output flourescents actually did a pretty good job...at least in encouraging coraline growth. General impressions from broader reading would seem to imply the Panorama Pro would do fine in this application, but I have no experience with LED's and, frankly, am no expert at anything in this hobby. 3 tanks and learning every day....

Do the sage lighting experts here believe the Panorama Pro would be at least as effective as the twin tube fixture? Even more effective?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts....

[rtparty]

Honestly, it will be 2-3x more lignt than the current setup you have. The Panorama PRO modules are powerful! I put one over my 24g tank and took it off after a couple days. I only ran it for 2 hours a day and I still lost an SPS frag I had.

I don't say that to scare you though. I would get one in a heartbeat if I were you. I would also get a couple stunner strips though to fine tune the color. Get the new dimmer as well so you can turn the module down a little bit.

[58Mike]

Are you serious?

I am not being facetious here, its just that I am worried about this being enough light to keep anything beyond fish and you feel I should get a dimmer to tone it down...?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really do appreciate it!

Any others out there?

[rtparty]

Are you serious?

I am not being facetious here, its just that I am worried about this being enough light to keep anything beyond fish and you feel I should get a dimmer to tone it down...?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I really do appreciate it!

Any others out there?

They are more powerful than you think, trust me.

You will want the dimmer just in case. If you don't need it, great. If you do need it, you will be happy to already have it on hand.

[Zackb911]

I think you'd be fine. The PRO is 19W and your PC lighting was 30W. On a 15g tank I would say that sounds about right.

I am uncertain how coverage would be on that 24" dimension, these units are only 12" in length. Of course coverage and intensity will both vary depending on mounting height.

I use all Ecoxotic LEDs myself; 4 mixed Originals, 1 Blue PRO, and 2 Blue Stunners on a 34g Solana... they're great, go for it!

[tqpolo]

They are more powerful than you think, trust me.

You will want the dimmer just in case. If you don't need it, great. If you do need it, you will be happy to already have it on hand.

Aren't u the guy that get paid by Ecoxotic? You were the one bragging about their improved 1w led fixture that hasn't came out yet.

[58Mike]

Thanks for the additional comments...all opinions are welcome.

As to the allegations of one poster being a shill for Ecoxotic, my understanding from the sticky at the top is that the moderators are monitoring posts for such activity and work to block it when they find it. From what I have seen, the poster in question seems to post more about T5's but also about other LED lighting. As always, though, buyer beware....

I am just glad for the resource that this community provides, many varied opinions, persectives, etc. Read it all and glean from what you can...some helpful, some less so. Again, thanks!

Any other thoughts out there?

[rtparty]

Aren't u the guy that get paid by Ecoxotic? You were the one bragging about their improved 1w led fixture that hasn't came out yet.

Yeah, I get paid by Ecoxotic and am still on Reef Central!!!! :headwalls: Are you an idiot?

Let's try to use correct grammar as well. It makes the board that much nicer to use. I am NOT paid by Ecoxotic in any way. The guy asked a question about a product I use. I answered him. What is wrong with that?

Their new fixture isn't a 1w LED. Go look it up if you don't believe me. I recommend Ecoxotic stuff because I actually USE it and have success. Is that a crime? If so, ban me and arrest me.

[collie man]

rtparty, idc who you work for. im just glad your willing to share your knowledge.

thank you, jeremy

[rtparty]

rtparty, idc who you work for. im just glad your willing to share your knowledge.

thank you, jeremy

I manage a local restaurant! That is what makes me laugh the most when I read comments from people who think I am paid by these companies.

Trust me, when they are willing to pay me for my time, I won't be on the site any longer.

[peequin]

I upgraded my 12G aquapod with one panorama pro in September. Trust me...it will be a huge difference compared to the normal output flourescents you have now. I spoke with Ecoxotic and they said that one panorama pro produces about 250 par at a depth of 24"! They recommended only one panorama pro on my nano-reef and they said that it would be enough for SPS. I have added a few SPS frags and a montipora cap and growth has been substantial so far...I could see evidence of growth every day.

You also get a cool shimmer effect in your water similar to a metal halide light.